A homeschooling family of nine moves into the blogging neighborhood, thankful for a little space to run and play and call our own...

Friday, February 24, 2006

Favorite Chicken Recipes

The Kitchen Meme got me thinking of posting a few good recipes. Fair warning, we are not fat conscious at our house. Several of our inhabitants are bone skinny and need all the fat they can get. The rest of us just have to learn to exercise portion control. :)

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The Best Alfredo Sauce We've Ever Had

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1 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese

1 stick of butter

3/4 c. of Parmesan cheese

about 3/4 c. milk

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Just put it all in the saucepan and stir with a whisk until it is smooth and creamy. This is very easy for a child to make. I have recently started using this to make creamed spinach. Just mix some of the sauce with cooked chopped spinach and sprinkle with some extra Parmesan. For a very low-carb treat, substitute cream for the milk. Yum! We make this sauce often for company and serve it with hot pasta, grilled chicken, a salad and french bread.

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This next recipe has a funny story behind it. When I had just given birth to our fifth child someone had been so gracious to organize meals to be brought to us. For seven nights a different person brought us dinner. The first night was chicken and rice, the second night was chicken and rice, the next night was chicken and rice. The children began to wonder what was going on. I had to threaten them to not say a word if the next night brought chicken and rice. It happened again and again. Every night different people brought different chicken and rice dishes. On the last night, we couldn't believe it, another chicken and rice dish. This time a chicken-rice-broccoli casserole. We smiled and politely thanked our friends. You would think after six nights of chicken and rice, we would not be scrambling for the phone to order pizza but this dish was SO GOOD. We gobbled it up. We knew it had to be good to get such rave reviews after a week of the same thing. I had to get the recipe. So here it is. Enjoy!

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First make homemade cream of chicken soup. Don't let that scare you. It's easy. Mr. Potts is allergic to MSG so it's no pre-canned soups for us. It's really simple. This recipe is not nearly as good with canned soup.

Stir with a whisk and cook until thickened. When done whisk in about 1/2 c. - 3/4 c. mayonnaise and a good squirt of bottled lemon juice.

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Layer a 9 x 13 dish in this order:

Rice

chopped cooked broccoli

chopped cooked chicken

the homemade soup mixture

shredded cheese

a good thick layer of stuffing crumbs tossed with butter

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Bake at 350 until hot and bubbly.

You won't believe how good this is! Even more so if you haven't had chicken and rice six nights in a row! :)

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Tom's Super Simple but Savory Chicken

This is our 15 year old daughter's speciality recipe she created. Everyone loves it.

Place boneless, skinless chicken thighs in a cassarole dish. Sprinkle heavily (I mean coat those puppies) with Lawry's Perfect Blend Seasoning Rub for Chicken & Poultry and McCormick's Szechuan Style Pepper Blend. Then bake uncovered at 375 until the chicken is done. I think it's about 45 min. Just add rice or pasta and a vegetable (the creamed spinach goes good here) and you have a very tasty easy meal.

No comments:

"May we remember as parents that we are His children, and that He is about the business of changing our hearts, of repairing our ruins, of remaking us. And though He has not finished with us, He has placed in our care His children. May He in His grace keep our hearts aflame for these children. May He give us minds like steel traps that we would never be distracted, that we would not forsake our calling. May He, the great Steward, make us faithful stewards of children, the most precious gifts, of which is the kingdom of God." RC Sproul, Jr.

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The Shadybrook Acres Kids

From left to right:Candace, Abel, Kezzi, Annalise, Priscilla, Hope and Luke

About Me:

I've been married to my husband since January of 1987. In November of that year our first daughter arrived. Twenty-one years and seven children later, we are living a full life in rural Tennessee. Our children are ages 22, 21, 19, 17, 15, 13 and 9. We've homeschooled from the start ~ back when two little girls sat at their desks filling out preschool workbooks. Boy, have we learned a lot! Now we don't own any desks at all but instead we prefer to gather at the large kitchen table or in the living room with cozy blankets and hot tea to read many wonderful books. I really do love my life!